A quarterly publication of the Singapore Tripartism Forum

@Work2017 Issue 29partism

The National Wages Council (NWC) Guidelines for 2017/2018, released on 31 May 2017, focused on deepening skills and transforming jobs to enhance productivity and stay future-ready. NWC Chairman Mr Peter Seah emphasised the need for businesses and workers to keep pace with global trends and technology to stay competitive in the future economy.

Deepen Skills and Transform Jobs to Enhance Productivity and Stay Future-ReadyWith productivity growth remaining low and total workforce growth expected to be significantly lower than in the earlier part of the decade, it is crucial for businesses to redesign jobs and transform towards higher productivity and innovation. At the same time, it is also important to provide employment support for workers affected by the economic transition and business restructuring. As such, the NWC recommended the following: • Tripartite Partners: To implement the

recommendations made by the Committee on the Future Economy through the various Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs), to capture growth opportunities that provide good jobs and good wages for Singaporeans

• Employers: To leverage the support under the Government’s Transform and Grow initiative, to create better quality jobs for Singaporeans and help ensure that real wage increases are in line with productivity growth over the long term

• Workers: To make full use of the available employment support under Adapt and Grow and SkillsFuture initiatives, to continually refresh their skills to take advantage of opportunities in the future economy

Given uneven business conditions and the ongoing transition of the economy, the NWC reaffirmed the principle that wage increases will need to be sustainable and fair. • Built-in wage increases should be given in

line with firms’ business prospects • Variable payments should reflect firms’

performance and workers’ contributions.

National Wages Council: Deepen Skills and Transform Jobs to Enhance Productivity and Stay Future Ready

Members of the National Wages Council 2017/2018

In doing so, the NWC encourages employers to share productivity gains fairly with workers while enhancing flexibility in their wage structure to ensure competitiveness.

Wage Recommendations for Low-Wage WorkersIn the last five years, the NWC has given focus to low-wage workers through quantitative wage recommendations. Together with ongoing efforts by tripartite partners to support low-wage workers, the proportions of full-time resident employees earning a basic monthly wage of up to $1,000 and $1,100 have fallen significantly. Building on the progress made, the NWC saw merit in continuing to provide quantitative wage recommendations.

For 2017/2018, the NWC recommended the following:

strong support to uplift incomes of low wage workers, and are committed to reach out to their member companies and unionised companies to increase the adoption of the NWC quantitative wage recommendations.

Other NWC Recommendations on Re-Employment of Older Workers and Responsible RetrenchmentThe NWC also welcomed the Government’s move to raise the re-employment age from 65 to 67 and highlighted the importance of supporting older workers as our workforce ages. The NWC encouraged employers to tap on Government programmes like the enhanced WorkPro to implement age-friendly workplace practices.

Lastly, the NWC welcomed the move by the Government to make retrenchment notifications mandatory for employers as this will help tripartite partners to better assist affected locals in finding alternative employment and relevant training. • Where retrenchment may be inevitable,

employers should:­®­­Do so responsibly and fairly­®­­Consult unions if the company is

unionised­®­­Work with outplacement services such

as Workforce Singapore (WSG) and the Employment and Employability Institute (NTUC-e2i) to assist affected workers

• Retrenched workers are encouraged to make use of opportunities for training, and reskill to take up new employment.

The NWC 2017/2018 Guidelines can be found at www.mom.gov.sg/nwc.

For Low-Wage Workers earning Employers Grant

Basic monthly wage ≤ $1,200

Built-in wage increase of $45-$60

Basic monthly wage > $1,200

Reasonable wage increase and/or one-off lump sum based on skills and productivity

The higher wage threshold (compared to $1,100 last year) will cover an additional 40,700 workers; and the lower range (compared to $50 to $65 last year) will provide greater flexibility for employers to provide wage increases, given the uneven business conditions and labour market outlook. The employers and unions have given their

A quarterly publication of the Singapore Tripartism Forum

Age Friendly Practices Enhance Job Opportunities for Older Workers

The introduction of Singapore’s re-employment model in 2012, coupled with the efforts by the tripartite partners to encourage age-friendly workplaces, have helped our older workers stay employed for as long as they are willing and able. This model was strengthened with the recent changes to the Retirement and Re-employment Act (RRA) to: 1. Raise the re-employment age from 65

to 67 to help older workers to work for as long as they are willing and able to.

2. Introduce the option for older workers to be re-employed by another employer to provide greater flexibility for both employers and employees.

3. Remove the option for employers to cut employees’ wages at age 60, as tripartite efforts in moving employers away from seniority-based wage systems have been successful.

While the RRA changes create job opportunities, it is essential that employers provide age-friendly workplaces to ensure that these are good job opportunities for our older workers. Age-friendly workplaces enable older workers to remain productive and in turn help companies to remain competitive.

Technology as a key enabler to foster age-friendly workplaces On 23 June 2017, Minister of State (MOS) for Manpower Mr Sam Tan led a tripartite Learning Journey to The American Club, which had tapped on WorkPro through NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to incorporate technology into many of its work processes.

MOS Tan noted, “Instead of displacing the older workers, technology is a key enabler to help older workers take on better quality jobs. I urge all employers to invest in their older workers – to provide opportunities for them to upskill, reskill and deep-skill, and to help them use technology to their advantage.”

MOS Tan revealed that since WorkPro was enhanced in July 2016, more than 200 companies have tapped on the WorkPro Job Redesign Grant potentially benefitting close to 4,000 older workers aged 50 and above. The grant confers up to $300,000 to companies that redesign jobs to be more age-friendly. About 95% of these job redesign projects were technology-related enhancements, which enabled older workers to learn new skills and take on new tasks, hence enhancing their employability.

As a successful case study, The American Club had leveraged on technology to create easier, safer and smarter jobs for its older workers. As part of its job redesign project, The American Club had replaced the traditional deep fryers in its kitchens with Auto-Filtration Deep Fryers. For the older workers doing cleaning of the oil tanks, this eliminated the need to remove food sediments manually, a routine but physically demanding task, which in turn improved their productivity. For more information on WorkPro and its grants such as the Job Redesign Grant, please visit www.mom.gov.sg/workpro, email the WorkPro Programme Partners at workpro@ntuc.org.sg (NTUC)/workpro@snef.org.sg(SNEF), or call them at 62138383 (NTUC)/62907696 (SNEF)

Instead of displacing the older workers, technology

is a key enabler to help older workers take on better quality jobs. I urge all employers to invest in their older workers – to provide opportunities for them to upskill, reskill and deep-skill, and to help them use technology to their advantage.”

A quarterly publication of the Singapore Tripartism Forum

HRIMP - Transforming Singapore’s HR Industry to Better Support Businesses and Workers

A NEW ERA FOR HR PROFESSIONALSThe Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) is the new HR professional body set up by the tripartite partners. IHRP aims to set the HR standards of excellence and enable human capital development in enterprises.

One of its first roles is to implement the newly-launched national HR certification framework, known as IHRP Certification. IHRP is the only HR body in Singapore to administer the certification. Developed through extensive consultations and benchmarked against international standards, the IHRP Certification is an industry-endorsed mark of quality that acknowledges the mastery of future-ready competencies, increasingly valued by employers. This raises the bar for the HR profession as the certification assesses knowledge and experience against the IHRP Body of Competencies (BoC), which are requisite skills and attributes required to excel in a HR role.

The pioneer batch of 88 HR professionals was conferred with their certification in May 2017. HR professionals who are keen to be certified as an IHRP Certified Professional (IHRP-CP) or IHRP Senior Professional (IHRP-SP) can register to participate in the first rounds of assessment to be held in October and November 2017. Certification fees are subsidised for Singaporeans and PRs.

Visit www.ihrp.sg for more information on IHRP and to apply for the IHRP Certification.

INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS

INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS

SPOT COLORS

Pantone 130C

PROCESS COLORS

40M 100Y

Pantone Black 7C 80 Black

Pantone 3005C 100C 36M

RGB COLORS

247R 168G

105R 106G 109B

130G 201B

PEOPLE AS HUMAN CAPITAL HR AS STRATEGIC BUSINESS PARTNER

VALUED PROFESSION WITH GOOD JOBS

ENABLE HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

STRENGTHENING CAPABILITIES OF THE

HR PROFESSION

ENHANCING HR SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYERS

NURTURING A VIBRANT HR SERVICES SECTOR AND HR ECOSYSTEM

Industry-relevant experiences and support for HR students • Enhanced internships for HR • SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programmes for HRDeep-skilling and career development for HR professionals • Singapore-Industry Scholarship (SgiS)-HR CET Grant • SkillsFuture Study Award for HR • Professional Conversion Programme for Professional Executives (HR) • SkillsFuture Fellowship • HR leadership development programmes • Skills Framework for HR (upcoming)Benchmark for future-ready HR professionals • IHRP Certification

HR resources and tools for employers • HR Resource Portal • HR Diagnostic ToolSupport for employers to address identified HR gaps • HR Shared Services • Capability Development Grant • SkillsFuture SME Mentors Programme • Volunteer HR Directors • SN EF Agency for Productivity Practices, HR and Industrial Relations (SAPPHIRE)Additional resources, support and recognition for implementing progressive people practices • Human Capital Partnership Programme • SkillsFuture Employer Award

Development of quality HR services

Training providers offering industry-relevant training and development

More networking opportunities for HR professionals

Quality research and international benchmarking of HR best practices

The tripartite partners welcomed the HRIMP as a timely and essential development in Singapore’s next phase of growth and are committed to support HR industry development.

Ms Goh Swee Chen, Vice-President, Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and Chairman, IHRP, said, “Employers have a key role to play in the HRIMP to develop and establish HR professionals as strategic partners in progressing our human capital in tandem with the transformation of the economy. SNEF will assist employers to deepen the skills of their HR to build organisational capabilities to enable to their companies to thrive in the future economy.

Ms Mary Liew, President, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said, “Businesses are being disrupted in the way they operate today. To overcome new challenges, HR professionals must work closely with tripartite stakeholders to safeguard a good industrial relations climate, and find solutions together to adapt to changing industry trends, understand employees’ evolving needs and expectations, and provide better careers and development opportunities for our working people.”

Visit www.mom.gov.sg/hrimp to find out more about the HR Industry Manpower Plan.

On 10 July 2017, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Manpower and Foreign Affairs, Mrs Josephine Teo, unveiled the Human Resource (HR) Industry Manpower Plan, or HRIMP.

The HR industry comprises about 43,000 HR professionals supporting more than 200,000 businesses, and some 2,300 firms in the HR services sector. As part of the national SkillsFuture movement to prepare key industries for future growth, tripartite partners recognised that the HR industry would be a key enabler to help people adapt and grow, and industries transform and grow, in Singapore’s future economy.

With this in mind, the HR Sectoral Tripartite Committee, comprising representatives from the tripartite partners, industry, HR bodies and associations, and academia, was formed in 2015 to develop the HRIMP. The HRIMP underpins the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) to promote growth and competitiveness in key sectors, and create good jobs for Singaporeans.

In her speech, Minister Teo said that the vision is for HR to be “a key that effectively unlocks the potential of our people and businesses to adapt and transform”. She also outlined the three key thrusts and corresponding initiatives under the HRIMP to strengthen the HR industry:

1. Strengthening the capabilities of the HR profession2. Enhancing HR support for employers3. Nurturing a vibrant HR services sector and HR eco-system

(Our vision is) A Singapore where HR is a key that effectively unlocks the

potential of our people and businesses to adapt and transform.”

Key initiatives under the HRIMP to support the transformation of the HR industry.